CHAPTER II 



THE AVOCADO 



Plates I-IV 



NORTH AMERICAN horticulturists are accustomed to view the 

 avocado as one of the greatest undeveloped sources of food 

 which the tropics offer at the present day. From their stand- 

 point they are correct, but the inhabitants of Mexico and 

 Central America would consider it more logical to assert that 

 the Irish potato is a new crop deserving of extensive cultivation. 

 North Americans view the avocado as a possibility, but to the 

 aboriginal inhabitants of tropical America it is a realized 

 possibility. 



"Four or five tortillas [corn cakes], an avocado, and a cup of 

 coffee, this is a good meal," say the. Indians of Guatemala. 



It is precisely this condition, the importance of the 

 avocado as a food in those parts of tropical America where it 

 has been grown since immemorial times, that has led students 

 of this fruit in the United States to predict that avocado culture 

 will some day become more important than citrus culture in 

 California and Florida. 



To a certain extent, the avocado takes the place of meat in the 

 dietary of the Central Americans. It is appetizing, it is 

 nourishing, it is cheap, and it is available throughout most 

 of the year. When these last two conditions have been re- 

 produced in the United States, will not the avocado become a 

 staple article of diet with millions of people? 



There is every reason to believe that eventually the avocado 

 will be as familiar to American housewives as the banana is 



9 



